Posted on August 31st, 2012 - Written by: Josée Daigneault

We’re so proud of our Audio student, Victoria Wicks – yes the same one who contributes to our blog – for taking the initiative to gain experience through volunteering. We asked her what she’s been doing, and here’s what she had to say:

“Well, I did a couple things… the first day I was asked to do the sound for the third and final day of shooting for a comedic short. It was a speed dating spoof and the majority of it was improvised. Took place in a gallery downtown on a swelter 40-degree day, but we made it through with very minimal hiccups. It went so smoothly that the producer asked me to join his team the next day when they were filming a full short film in the east end. It was a zombie short that a friend of mine (who had been the director the day before and my “in” to all this) had written. We had such a blast, and it was a pleasure to work with everyone involved. Woot.”

Ahhhhh… That is the sigh of relief when exams are all done and projects are neated wrapped. We are here now, 3rd term students, at the cusp; almost over the hump. For some reason, second term seemed to fly by. I am still in shock that it is May! It’s interesting how it seems to have passed in a flash, and yet it feels like reminiscing about ages past when I think about walking in to Studio 306 for the first time. I remember copying down the pages of notes explaining the set up for an overdubbing session. I knew, as I am sure we all did, that in nine weeks I would understand everything in those pages. Sure enough, by the end, those pages were far less intimidating. In point of fact, they were not even present during the examination.

Now, we get to decide how well we do this term. And yes, it IS completely up to each individual, not the school, not the instructors. The amount of effort applied by each student directly affects the results of each student. Something that seems so obvious, but is quickly forgotten when you try riding the wave of previous success. I speak from experience. Let me elaborate….

First term, I had something to prove; to myself and to everyone. When I had accomplished that (*cough *cough* 93% average*), I made the mistake of thinking just that: I had accomplished that. In reality what I had done was set the bar for myself. I now had this benchmark, which required a harder push to manipulate upwards.

Second term: I flopped. Not sure yet of my average, but I don’t need a number to tell me that I could have done better. I know it myself. I completely forgot that I reached a certain level because I worked hard to get there. On top of that, I could not rest there like the landing of a set of stairs. Nope, this is more like a StairMaster… the stair you decide to pause on pulls you down with it.

Third term: I vow to kick so much out of this next three months that they won’t know up from down. I had amazing advice from one of our wonderful instructors here when I started to get down on myself for sliding. I will paraphrase: At some point or another, everyone will fall. That is not the important part. What matters is how you recover, how you pick yourself up again.

And so I refuse to dwell on my mistakes and the handful of excuses for each. I choose instead to learn from them (and potentially get into making cheesy motivational posters for supplementary income…).

And so let this be fair warning to any prospective students and a sound, lifelong standard by which to live. Remember that when you are doing sit ups, you don’t do 100 and stop there. You continue to do 100 everyday. And everyday you add a couple more until one day you make it to 120, 140, 200. And then you have killer abs to show for it. And so, ladies and gents, it’s time for me to work on my abs… actually both figuratively and literally. It’s almost bathing suit season.

A few things that have happened to me since starting at Trebas to make me see that I am officially a nerd (if there was any doubt):

The joke “Hey, can someone turn on the phontom power on Kieran’s voice?” not only makes sense, but is really funny.

I can no longer listen to Alanis Morisette’s album Jagged Little Pill without hearing every time she rustles her clothing or that one really bad punch that cuts off half her breath… (I won’t say the song, in case there are fans who would still like to enjoy it).

I have plans to build my own ribbon mic.

I was interested in a conference entitled Music Creator & Publisher Conference about the future of radio.

While attending an interesting Music Creator & Publisher Conference with a panel of radio station presidents about the future of radio, I get distracted by the ringing in the room.

I know what that means.

The discovery that I am within 2 degrees of separation to prolific recording engineer and producer Terry Brown send me on a nerdy tirade about how awesome that is for way too long.

I got excited when, during a ProTools lab, my cohort accidentally discoved that if you highlight a region and hit ‘E’, you can zoom in on this selected region.

If several of these things have happened to you and you are not already in the industry or studying to be, then perhaps you are on to something by reading the Trebas blog….

Six months ago I started at Trebas completely fresh, all bright eyes and bushy tails. The first batch of theory courses introduced the concepts of sound and recording to a group of newbies. Whether we believed we knew more than we actually did or admitted to being blank slates, we all had our minds blown every week by Trevor’s ridiculously inspiring speeches and industry stories. I am sure everyone owes Vince at least one double-double for a button missed on the Amek at Sonic I. By the end of first term, the two classes that started together have bonded in very different ways, on many levels. Our instructors have even seen fit to throw those who are keen a bone or two. In my opinion, these are the moments that define the rest of our careers.

For instance, our department head sent us all an email about a small company out of Scarborough, RL Sound & Lighting, looking for students to work with them. I was privileged enough to have a few things going for me, not the least of which is the fact that I have my G license and am an excellent driver (if I do say so myself…and I do), so I got the job. Just last month on St Patrick’s Day, I was sent to Schomberg on my first official professional live sound gig. I assisted with the set up and live mixing for The Wheat Kings, a Tragically Hip tribute band made up of a talented group of musicians who have an original repertoire under the name of Cat House Dogs. You would not believe my excitement when I was dropped off at my apartment at 5am and handed pay for my day’s work. If I could have called my mom right then, I would have! (As it was I waited until 12 noon, after a good 6-hour rest. :-P)

Canadian Music Week (http://www.cmw.net/) celebrated its 30th year last week with a variety of conferences, award shows, exhibitions, films, comedy and, of course, five nights of Canadian Music Fest showcasing 800-plus bands at 60 live venues across the city.

This was a phenomenal (albeit tiring) opportunity to participate in the industry and mingle with the best in the business. As an audio student, the conferences, panels and workshops had a great deal to offer in the way of alternative sources of education. I myself volunteered my time to the CMW staff and worked on the Signage team on the conference side of things, which took place at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Other volunteer positions included reception, registration, award show volunteer, festival volunteer and more. (Side note, our team totally rocked it this year and our wonderful volunteer co-ordinator thanked us for making his 10th year with the festival the best one yet!)

I must admit, my very first impressions of my position were maybe not the best. Starting on the second morning of the week, my first time volunteering with the CMW, I felt disadvantaged and a little lost. However, I took it upon myself to learn the ins and outs of the job; including all of its perks! By my second shift, I was taking initiative while building relationships and attending any sessions I could. By the end of the week, I emptied a stack of business cards and CDs on to my living room table and sifted through new Twitter followers and Facebook friends.